A philosophy major in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies with an emphasis in artificial intelligence, consciousness and ethics is currently in the approval process, with hopes of launching by Fall 2027.
As philosophy degrees continue to rise in relevance and popularity, ASU faculty are seeking to introduce new lanes and opportunities to address the necessity of AI literacy in society.
Every academic discipline is feeling the pressure to adapt to new advancements in artificial intelligence, and philosophy is no exception.
"It's really important for philosophers to emphasize the relevance of their discipline and to engage with relevant new topics, like AI," Stella Fillmore-Patrick, a philosophy professor, said.
Fillmore-Patrick said the degree aims at taking an interdisciplinary approach while remaining primarily focused on philosophy.
The major will feature three main components: AI literacy, consciousness and AI-related ethics. This degree will grapple with the question of whether AI machines are conscious or capable of becoming conscious in the future.
"Philosophers have always analyzed and tried to understand what consciousness is, and what mental states are, and what it means to be human," N. Ángel Pinillos, professor and faculty head of the philosophy department, said. "All of those foundational questions are now becoming really relevant that everybody's asking these questions in the popular media."
The degree aims to prepare students for traditional routes taken by philosophy graduates, whether it be to law school or grad school, as well as new opportunities for ethicists in AI fields.
The growth of AI companies, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, has the potential to create new careers that combine knowledge of technology and the humanities.
"There's a demand for people to work in what they call 'alignment in tech,'" Fillmore-Patrick said. "We've found evidence, when we were researching (and) starting this program, that that's a growing field."
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The new program is looking to fill in gaps, introducing courses to teach the basics of AI without the level of detail present in computer science classes.
Both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science will be offered.
Pinillos emphasized that AI will not be fully integrated into the classroom.
"Just because it is an AI major, it doesn't mean that students have to use AI to write their papers," he said. "It doesn't mean that professors have to use AI to grade it."
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Generating buzz amongst current philosophy majors, the introduction of this new program has students wondering how the intersection of philosophy and AI will be explored.
"AI is really contentious to the beauty of philosophy," Ella Long, a sophomore studying philosophy, said. "So, those two combined is a really interesting pairing that I'd like to see how that plays out."
Ultimately, the introduction of this new degree aims to explore the fundamental questions behind AI through the lens of philosophy, seeking to understand the connection between AI, society and other humans.
"It's part of our jobs as professors to keep up with the literature, to keep up with the changes in modern society," Pinillos said. "I personally think AI is the most transformative technology that we've ever had."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporters at ccbixby@asu.edu.
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